Hi Mark
Reminds me of this record from just up the road in 2005…
Canberra Bird Notes 30(2) June 2005
BRINDABELLA BREEDING OF PAINTED BUTTON-QUAIL
Michael Maconachie' and Harvey Perkins2
128 Duffy Street, Ainslie, ACT 2602
2
42 Summerland Circuit, Kambah, ACT 2902
On 26 December 2004, while driving along Brindabella Road about 2 km east of Piccadilly Circus , I
(MM)
encountered a group of four small chicks huddled in the middle of the road. Another bird presumably the parent, was
calling from the cover of the roadside vegetation. When I got out of the car one of the chicks ran off but the other three
stayed put. As I took photographs of them, one, then another ran off leaving one behind. In the end, after taking more
photographs, I gently encouraged the remaining chick to get off the middle of the road.
Based on photographs of the chicks, after consulting HANZAB, several other references, and CSIRO ornithologist
Mark Clayton, the birds were identified as Painted Button-quail
Turnix varia. The Painted Button-quail is considered a
rare breeding resident in the ACT and surrounding area (Wilson 1999, COG 2005). A handful of records of this
species are submitted to COG in most years: database records show that in the 20-year period 1984-2003 there were
records for all but two years, with a total of 96 records, averaging 4.8 records per year.
Most records come from lowland areas of eucalypt forest and woodland, however there are seven records from the
higher ranges (over 1000 m). Six of these seven records come from 1987-1989, and are likely the result of
concerted activity in such areas for the ACT Atlas (1986-1989) (Taylor and COG 1992). These include two records
from Mt Franklin Road (15 and 26 Jun 1998, GrC18 and C19), Creamy Flat Track (4 Sep 1998, GrE22), Boboyan
area (18 Oct 1987 and 6 Jan 1989, GrH26 and G25) and Clear Range (4 Dec 1988, GrK24). The other record was
from 21 January 1994 on the Brindabella Road (GrD14). The current report of the species at 1150 m on Brindabella Road
(GrD15) is not unexpected or unprecedented, but is interesting as the first high altitude record of Painted
Button-quail for a decade.
The record is also important because it is just the third record of Painted Buttonquail breeding in the COG area, and the
first from a high altitude location. Previous breeding records were of dependent young on 6 Jan 1988 in the
Kowen Forest area (GrO14) and on 5 Feb 1995 at Mulligans Flat (GrL10). Four chicks is typical for the species
(`usually 3-4, rarely five'), with the male feeding and guarding the precocial nidifugous young for the first week or so
(HANZAB). Also typical is the tendency for chicks to 'crouch and remain motionless, relying on camouflage to
avoid detection'. Fortunately in this case their camouflage let them down!
Dr Harvey Perkins
CRC Programme Operations
AusIndustry – Business Services
Phone +61 2 6213 7472
Internet:
business.gov.au
From: Mark Clayton [
Sent: Friday, 2 December 2016 5:07 PM
To: 'CanberraBirds' <>
Subject: [canberrabirds] Painted Button-quail
I meant to send this to the chatline on Tuesday afternoon but somehow got sidetracked. I took a birdwatcher from Cairns up to the New Chums, Lees Creek and Blundell’s Creek Roads for a morning birding. About 2/3 of the way back uphill on
BCR I flushed a Painted Button-quail from the side of the road. The habitat was quite dense low dampish vegetation characteristic of the wetter gullies in the area. I have been travelling these roads since the mid 1960’s and have never seen a button-quail
anywhere near here although there is quite a bit of suitable habitat not too far away on the drier western facing slopes.
mark
